Abstract: To provide a chemical sensor that enables high detection accuracy. A chemical sensor includes a substrate, two or more magnetoresistance-effect elements disposed side by side in a substrate in-plane direction over the substrate, a first film disposed over a region between the magnetoresistance-effect elements adjacent to each other, and a second film disposed over the magnetoresistance-effect elements, wherein the second film has higher solubility in a specific liquid than the first film.

Abstract: A chemical sensor that enables high detection accuracy. A chemical sensor includes a substrate, a magnetoresistance-effect element disposed over the substrate, a first film disposed over the magnetoresistance-effect element, and a second film disposed in a region in the vicinity of the magnetoresistance-effect element or over a region in the vicinity of the magnetoresistance-effect element, wherein the second film has higher solubility in a specific liquid than the first film.

Abstract: What provided is a biosensor including: a substrate having a surface with first and second regions adjacent each other; a magnetoresistance effect element disposed on the first region; a soft magnetic thin film on the second region; a protective film disposed on both the first region and the second region, covering a surface of the soft magnetic thin film, and disposed on the top part of the second region and contains an affinity substance recognizing the biomolecule on the outer surface of the second region exclusively; and an MR cover film disposed on at least the top part of the first region, disposed on the protective film above the magnetoresistance effect element, and being free of the affinity substance, wherein the soft magnetic thin film transmits an in-plane component of a stray magnetic field of magnetic beads to the magnetoresistance effect element.

Abstract: An optical recording medium includes a recording and reading layer that is previously staked or formed afterword and has no concavo-convex pattern for tracking control, and a servo layer in which a concavo-convex pattern or a groove for tracking control is formed. Information can be recorded in the recording and reading layer while tracking is performed using the servo layer.

Abstract: An optical drive apparatus that reproduces an optical disk having a land and a groove, the optical drive apparatus including a first tracking-error-signal generating unit that generates a first tracking error signal by using a DPD method, a second tracking-error-signal generating unit that generates a second tracking error signal by using a DPP method, a tracking servo unit that controls the optical system, and a determining unit that determines that an irradiation point of an optical beam is in a non-recorded area. The tracking servo unit switches over to a control based on the second tracking error signal in response to a result of determination by the determining unit during performing a control based on the first tracking error signal.

Abstract: An optical recording medium includes a recording and reading layer that is previously staked or formed afterword and has no concavo-convex pattern for tracking control, and a servo layer in which a concavo-convex pattern or a groove for tracking control is formed. Information can be recorded in the recording and reading layer while tracking is performed using the servo layer.

Abstract: A series of optical recording media is provided to reduce a burden on an optical pickup by introducing a standardized idea among a plurality of optical recording media. In the series of optical recording media, optical recording media are of a plurality of types, each optical recording medium including a plurality of planar recording and reading layers with no projections and depressions for tracking control, and a servo layer with projections and depressions for tracking control. The plurality of optical recording media have different numbers of stacked recording and reading layers, and the positions of the servo layers with respect to the corresponding light incident surfaces are standardized among the plurality of optical recording media.

Abstract: An optical recording medium includes a recording and reading layer that is previously staked or formed afterward and has no concavo-convex pattern for tracking control, and a servo layer in which a concavo-convex pattern or a groove for tracking control is formed. Information can be recorded in the recording and reading layer while tracking is performed using the servo layer.

Abstract: Information is recorded on a multi-layered optical recording medium by irradiating it with a laser beam. The recording medium can form a first information recording layer that is the farthest from a light incident surface, a second information recording layer that is the second farthest from the light incident surface, and at least one third information recording layer that is located closer to the light incident surface than the second information recording layer is. At this time, if all the information recording layers other than the first information recording layer are either blank or have been completely recorded, then information is recorded on the first information recording layer. This allows for stabilizing the energy of a recording laser beam during recording and thereby providing improved recording quality.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to increase the number of stacked layers in a multilayer optical recording medium while simplifying the design of the multilayer optical recording medium is provided a multilayer optical recording medium including at least four recording and reading layers from which information can be reproduced by light irradiation, the layers stacked through intermediate layers. The multilayer optical recording medium includes a plurality of recording and reading layers that are continuous in order of stacking and includes at least one recording and reading layer group in which reflectance in a stacked state decreases from a near side of a light incident surface to a far side. A single-layer reflectance of the nearest recording and reading layer is set to 0.2% or more and less than 2.0%, and a light transmittance improvement process is applied to the light incident surface.

Abstract: The multilayer optical recording medium with six or more recording and reading layers disposed one above the other has at least two or more recording and reading layer groups. The recording and reading layer groups each include a plurality of recording and reading layers successively disposed one above the other. The reflectance of each of the recording and reading layers in a stacked state decreases in the order from a front side near a light incident surface toward a back side far from the light incident surface. A recording and reading layer nearest the front side among the recording and reading layers in the recording and reading layer group nearer the back side has a reflectance in a stacked state higher than that of a recording and reading layer nearest the back side among the recording and reading layers in the recording and reading layer group nearer the front side.

Abstract: In a multilayer optical recording medium, it is an object to suppress generation of crosstalk while reducing an interlayer distance of recording and reading layers. In an optical recording medium including three or more recording and reading layers, a first distance, and a second distance greater than the first distance by 3 ?m or more are alternately defined as interlayer distances of recording and reading layers.

Abstract: Simple design of a multilayer optical recording medium is achieved while suppressing interlayer crosstalk and confocal crosstalk in the multilayer optical recording medium. Simple recording and reading control by a recording and reading unit is also achieved. The multilayer optical recording medium includes at least three or more recording and reading layers deposited one above the other with intermediate layers interposed therebetween, and information can be read by light irradiation from the layers. The intermediate layers have film thicknesses of two types or less, and all the recording and reading layers except the recording and reading layer farthest from a light incident surface have substantially the same optical constant.

Abstract: The multilayer optical recording medium with at least four or more recording and reading layers disposed one above the other has at least two or more recording and reading layer groups each including the recording and reading layers successively disposed one above the other. In adjacent recording and reading layer groups with an intermediate layer interposed therebetween, a recording and reading layer nearest a front side in the recording and reading layer group nearer a back side is higher than the higher value of the reflectances in a stacked state of two recording and reading layers nearest the back side in the recording and reading layer group nearer the front side.

Abstract: Efficient recording and reading are achieved in an optical recording medium including servo layers and recording and reading layers. The optical recording medium includes: a first servo layer having a projection and a depression for tracking control that are formed in a first spiral direction; a second servo layer having a projection and a depression for tracking control that are formed in a second spiral direction opposite to the first spiral direction; and a plurality of recording and reading layers having a flat structure with no projection and depression for tracking control. Information is recorded on each of the plurality of recording and reading layers while tracking control is performed using the first servo layer or the second servo layer.

Abstract: An optical recording medium having three or more information recording layers reduces crosstalk caused by multi-reflected beams and improves signal quality. In the optical recording medium having three or more information recording layers, the refractive index of a plurality of intermediate layers disposed between adjacent information recording layers is greater than the refractive index of a cover layer disposed between a light incident surface and an information recording layer being the closest from the light incident surface.

Abstract: A method for evaluating a read signal obtained by irradiating a medium with a laser beam through an objective lens and reading data from the reflected laser beam by a PRML detection method is provided. The method includes: a sampling step of sampling the data obtained from the reflected laser beam at clock timings to obtain sampled values; and a step of, when a constraint length of a PR class in the PRML detection method is an even number, computing an intermediate sampled value for evaluation using at least adjacent two of the sampled values arranged in the order sampled at the clock timings. The provided method is an objective evaluation method when the PRML detection method is used, whereby the selection of a recording medium and a reading apparatus is facilitated.

Abstract: An optical recording and reading method capable of enhancing the design flexibility of recording layers of an optical recording medium and performing accurate optical recording and reading operations. A basic recording layer is arranged in a position that is in the range of 90 ?m to 110 ?m away from a light incident surface of an optical recording medium, and recording layers are arranged in parallel with the basic recording layer. At least the position information of the recording layers is recorded in one of the basic recording layer and the recording layers.

Abstract: An optical reading system is provided to improve read signal quality with increasing its linear recording density. An optical recording medium in which the distance from a light incident surface to an information recording layer is less than 100 ?m is irradiated with a laser beam through an objective lens and information stored in the information recording layer is read by means of a PRML detection method. At this time, the constraint length n in the PRML detection method is set to an integer which satisfies 0.5×(?/NA)/(LV/f)?1<n<0.5×(?/NA)/(LV/f)+1, wherein ? represents the wavelength of the laser beam, NA represents the numerical aperture of the objective lens, LV represents the linear velocity of the optical recording medium when recording, and f represents a channel bit frequency when recording.

Abstract: An optical recording and reading method is provided in which the information necessary for recording and reading layers is quickly acquired to reduce the seek time during reading and recording. The optical recording and reading method is used for an optical recording medium that includes a plurality of recording and reading layers and a servo layer. Information is recorded on or read from the recording and reading layers by irradiating them with a recording and reading beam while the servo layer is irradiated with a servo beam to perform tracking control. When information is recorded on the recording and reading layers, control information necessary for subsequent recording and reading to be performed on the recording and reading layers is recorded on the servo layer 18. When the subsequent recording or reading is performed, the control information on the servo layer is consulted, and then the recording or reading is performed on the recording and reading layers.